Novel Coronavirus – China

[nick sussex]

You get your shopping put it on the conveyor belt at the cash desk ,  so that’s now come into contact with a surface that’s likely had hundreds of people touch it .

You go home wash your hands , put your shopping away , you’ve now possibly touched the virus , then you wash your hands again . Then you pop along grab a packets of crisps which were on the conveyor belt , could have touched the virus . You start munching cross contaminating your hands at the same time you’ve contaminated the crisps which you’ve just eaten .

And on it goes ! 

 

[Summer Sun]

340 new cases in Italy total now 2,036 with 52 deaths

[nick sussex]

1 minute ago, Summer Sun said:

340 new cases in Italy total now 2,036 with 52 deaths

That’s horrific . Absolutely shocking . Will we ever find out really what caused that huge number of cases which appeared rapidly .

[Snipper]

9 minutes ago, nick sussex said:

You get your shopping put it on the conveyor belt at the cash desk ,  so that’s now come into contact with a surface that’s likely had hundreds of people touch it .

You go home wash your hands , put your shopping away , you’ve now possibly touched the virus , then you wash your hands again . Then you pop along grab a packets of crisps which were on the conveyor belt , could have touched the virus . You start munching cross contaminating your hands at the same time you’ve contaminated the crisps which you’ve just eaten .

And on it goes ! 

 

And what do you do to counteract the problem.  Hibernate?

[Methuselah]

Just now, Snipper said:

And what do you do to counteract the problem.  Hibernate?

Or all have our hands amputated?

[Cheshire Freeze]

17 minutes ago, Donegal said:

The amount of people who touch their phones before they wash their hands, then touch their phones directly after washing hands and don't realise its like they never washed them at all. I would guess rates of normal colds/flu have gone up since the smartphone age for this very reason. 

I'm always wary of this. If I've touched a public object I keep my hands away from absolutely anything like my phone etc. If I have to touch it, I'll use a weak bleach solution to lightly dab over it when i get home.

[alexisj9]

7 minutes ago, Donegal said:

A New York doctor has warned coronavirus cases in the United States will surge into the thousands by next week as the former head of the FDA claimed three critical weeks were lost in containing the spread of the virus due to faulty test kits given out by the government. 

Dr Matt McCarthy, who is a staff physician at the busy New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, claimed he doesn't have the tools to properly care for patients because of the lack of coronavirus tests being made available to hospitals.

Health officials in New York have been scrambling to get their own coronavirus testing kits up and running after getting stuck with faulty tests from the federal government that they said left them unable to diagnose people quickly. 

It comes as New York confirmed its first coronavirus case on Sunday as a female healthcare worker in her 30s who returned from Iran last week and is now being quarantined in her Manhattan home. 

Dr McCarthy told CNBC's Squawk Box on Monday that the bungled test distribution was a 'national scandal' and claimed New York had only been able to properly carry out 32 tests so far. 

'We hear it's coming very soon but I'm here to tell you that at one of the busiest hospitals in the country, I don't have it at my finger tips. I still have to call the department of health, I still have to make my case and plead to test people,' he said. 

'This is not good. We know that there are 88 cases in the United States. There are going to hundreds by middle week, there's going to be thousands by next week. This is a testing issue. 

 

America making a real balls of it. 

That doesn't sound good, where did the duff test kits come from, I know the federal government part, but where did they get them from. Hopefully it wasn't on purpose. 

[nick sussex]

1 minute ago, Snipper said:

And what do you do to counteract the problem.  Hibernate?

You can’t counteract it . It’s impossible to avoid some risk but I now will be taking a sheet to the supermarket to lay down on the conveyor belt , I will also line the shopping trolley to avoid contamination from the trolley.

On return home the shopping will go into a separate fridge , I will use disposable  gloves to open any packets and use tongs to fish out anything from said packets !

And then I’ll ring the men in white coats to come and take me away !

[Methuselah]

Trendy eh? 

[Spikecollie]

6 minutes ago, Snipper said:

And what do you do to counteract the problem.  Hibernate?

I know, it's a horror. People who put the cold food out in supermarkets tend to wear gloves but not all of them and how often do they change/wash those gloves? Then there are people who do the "three P's" with produce (pick up, put down p!ss off!). It's an almost impossible situation - melons here in France are a prime example, you sniff both ends for ripeness and feel the fruit all over - sorry, that's what we do.

Trolleys are gross. I've found snot and other undesirable emanations on the handles quite often. The checkout belts are grim - the number of times you down your shopping in what is obviously spilt milk or yoghurt and you have to ask for it to be wiped away just so you don't end up with a slimy mess in your bag, let alone microbial contamination.

It's just too difficult to totally protect yourself and you'll go bonkers trying.

[nick sussex]

Here the government is currently ruling out transport restrictions but will consider these if things go to stage 3 .

As for my bubble here , it’s just about holding out . I’m on the border between depts 64 and 65 so far no confirmed cases but it’s only a matter of time .

[Spikecollie]

Just now, Donegal said:

No idea. Just poor management I guess

But never mind, Trump is taking aggressive action!

[Spikecollie]

Just now, nick sussex said:

Here the government is currently ruling out transport restrictions but will consider these if things go to stage 3 .

As for my bubble here , it’s just about holding out . I’m on the border between depts 64 and 65 so far no confirmed cases but it’s only a matter of time .

My bubble is hanging in there too, Nick. What sort of transport restrictions do you thiink they would be?

[Spikecollie]

1 minute ago, Donegal said:

Think that might give you nightmares Nick ha

 

That's just disgusting, COVID-19 or not. Mllaaahh...

[Rush2019]

12 minutes ago, nick sussex said:

You get your shopping put it on the conveyor belt at the cash desk ,  so that’s now come into contact with a surface that’s likely had hundreds of people touch it .

You go home wash your hands , put your shopping away , you’ve now possibly touched the virus , then you wash your hands again . Then you pop along grab a packets of crisps which were on the conveyor belt , could have touched the virus . You start munching cross contaminating your hands at the same time you’ve contaminated the crisps which you’ve just eaten .

And on it goes ! 

 

Shopping trolleys and baskets have also been thrown into the mix for being contaminated by touch, but why hasn't anyone highlighted money?  The plastic notes get put in mouths whilst ferreting in purses and pockets for change, this goes in a till drawer possibly contaminating the contents thereof only to be re-issued. Not to mention the number of hands the money passes through before it reaches yours.

 

 

 

 

 

[nick sussex]

2 minutes ago, Spikecollie said:

I know, it's a horror. People who put the cold food out in supermarkets tend to wear gloves but not all of them and how often do they change/wash those gloves? Then there are people who do the "three P's" with produce (pick up, put down p!ss off!). It's an almost impossible situation - melons here in France are a prime example, you sniff both ends for ripeness and feel the fruit all over - sorry, that's what we do.

Trolleys are gross. I've found snot and other undesirable emanations on the handles quite often. The checkout belts are grim - the number of times you down your shopping in what is obviously spilt milk or yoghurt and you have to ask for it to be wiped away just so you don't end up with a slimy mess in your bag, let alone microbial contamination.

It's just too difficult to totally protect yourself and you'll go bonkers trying.

I’m one of those annoying people who rummages behind a stack of things to get the longest sell by date . But in terms of conveyor belts I wonder whether disinfecting it with a product you’ve brought from the store might be an option . What are they going to do call security . That’s what I’ll be doing next time !

[Guest Delete Me]

For the UK:

Significant emergency (Level 1) has a wider focus and requires central government involvement or support, primarily from a lead government department (LGD) – see Section 2 - or a devolved administration, alongside the work of the emergency services, local authorities and other organisations. There is however no actual or potential requirement for fast, inter-departmental/agency, decision making which might necessitate the activation of the collective central government response, although in a few cases there may be value in using the COBR complex to facilitate the briefing of senior officials and ministers on the emergency and its management. Examples of emergencies on this scale include most severe weather-related problems. In addition, most consular emergencies overseas fall into this category with the FCO providing advice and support to those affected alongside the authorities in the country affected. 2.

Serious emergency (Level 2) is one which has, or threatens, a wide and/or prolonged impact requiring sustained central government co-ordination and support from a number of departments and agencies, usually including the regional tier in England and where appropriate, the devolved administrations. The central government response to such an emergency would be co-ordinated from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR), under the leadership of the lead government department. Examples of an emergency at this level could be a terrorist attack, widespread urban flooding, widespread and prolonged loss of essential services, a serious outbreak of animal disease, or a major emergency overseas with a significant affect on UK nationals or interests. Examples of emergencies on this scale, include the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic, the 2007 summer floods, and the response to the 7th July bombings in London.

Catastrophic emergency (Level 3) is one which has an exceptionally high and potentially widespread impact and requires immediate central government direction and support, such as a major natural disaster, or a Chernobyl-scale industrial accident. Characteristics might include a top-down response in circumstances where the local response had been overwhelmed, or the use of emergency powers were required to direct the response or requisition assets and resources. The Prime Minister would lead the national response. Fortunately, the UK has had no recent experience of a Level 3 emergency, but it is important to be prepared for such an event should the need arise.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Delete Me

[nick sussex]

3 minutes ago, Spikecollie said:

My bubble is hanging in there too, Nick. What sort of transport restrictions do you thiink they would be?

Hard to know what restrictions would really help . Unless they’re thinking of stopping transport to cluster areas . The minister wasn’t really clear what sort of restrictions would be put in place .

[Guest Delete Me]

Panic buying has now taken hold in US states affected by the viral outbreak along with Italy and Germany, I fully expect the UK to follow suit within 10 days - we panic buy when there's a bit of snow for god sake.

[Spikecollie]

7 minutes ago, nick sussex said:

I’m one of those annoying people who rummages behind a stack of things to get the longest sell by date . But in terms of conveyor belts I wonder whether disinfecting it with a product you’ve brought from the store might be an option . What are they going to do call security . That’s what I’ll be doing next time !

I'm a rummager too! I lift whole trays to get to the longer sell by dates. I have have them to because I can't get to the main supermarket more than once a week, sometimes less often with work and distance. It's selfish, I know but I also make up for it by buying from the "anti-gaspi" section and quickly eating or freezing whatever there is in short date. Most of my eggs come from there and it saves me a lot of money.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Spikecollie

[nick sussex]

London Guildhall school of Drama shut down for two weeks . A teacher there has tested positive .

[feb1991blizzard]

1 hour ago, nick sussex said:

That sounds rather ominous . If it’s not passed in the normal way with most transmission by either larger droplets from coughs or sneezes or alternatively surface transmission then that’s a major escalation. If the implication is people can transmit it by simple breathing next to someone then that’s awful .

 

But not unexpected - most viruses can be transmitted in this way, certainly norovirus can and Flu viruses.

[nick sussex]

1 minute ago, feb1991blizzard said:

But not unexpected - most viruses can be transmitted in this way, certainly norovirus can and Flu viruses.

I didn’t realize.  I thought you generally needed coughs , sneezes with things like flu .

[Guest Delete Me]

nCoV-2019 is highly infectious via droplets and in aerosol form, you don't even have to be in the same room as the infected person to contract the virus as it can remain in airflow.

Coughing, sneezing, talking, breathing are all ways in which the virus has been aerosolized.

 

[feb1991blizzard]

6 minutes ago, nick sussex said:

I didn’t realize.  I thought you generally needed coughs , sneezes with things like flu .

Not totally sure the extent you need to interact but surely one would suspect that if you are literally right next to someone on a crammed tube and breath hits their face or neck, it could would condensate so that part of the person is then contaminated, i don't think with flu that if someone breaths 10m away and 30 seconds later someone walking past is likely to catch but if your up close i don't see how its possible to avoid contamination.

Edited March 2, 2020 by feb1991blizzard